There was before.
And then after.
I don't know how long I was in between.
It was more than days, less than years.
I was in between.
I died.
Many times.
They killed me.
I died during the in between.
I don't know how many times.
They said they were testing my quirk.
They wanted to cultivate it.
They needed it.
They killed me.
They kept killing me.
I was shot. I was stabbed. I was burned. I was disintegrated.
I died many ways.
I don't think I could list them all.
Some hurt more than others.
Some were quick.
Some were not.
Death is a state of being.
Death is without warmth. Without light. Without air.
Death is suffocating. It climbs into your lungs. The more you gasp, the more it fills your veins, your vision, your sense of self.
Then, I would wake up.
I always woke up.
I am tired of waking up.
Death does not care.
I am sure I will lose myself to Death.
But they need my quirk.
I keep waking up.
They electrocuted me. They ripped out my innards. They slowly dissected me.
For my quirk.
I keep waking up.
There was before and after.
Bakugo was pissed. He was usually pissed. But contrary to his usual demeanor, he was capable of containing it. Of storing it for later use. And he would need it.
He had been captured by the League of Villains.
It was not the way he planned for that day to go. He wanted to complete the forest walk, maybe scare Deku, and go to bed. But here he was, targeted by idiots that didn't understand him. That wanted to change him. To make him a villain. He almost rolled his eyes.
Deku had the most All Might shit, but he was the bigger fan. As if he's become a villain. He wanted to kill all these bastards. Or turn them into the police. After beating the shit out of them.
He scowled. The League was talking with each other.
"-what about the other one?"
"maybe….so stubborn th-"
"But maybe she-?"
"Fine. Go get her." Shigaraki cut everyone off. He scratched his neck, obviously agitated.
Bakugo didn't know what her was. Another one? Was this another student? He grit his teeth, feeling the his skull tense from the pressure. Did they take another UA student? He was going to actually kill these bastards. An eternity passed in the next minutes, seeming to stall his breath.
Then she was there.
She was naked. Wearing a hood. A rope around her neck.
Her skin was caramel.
"What the hell is this?" Bakugo grit out, pulling against his restraints. He had never seen a girl's tits in person. This was sick. He felt his heart pound in his ears, an indescribable rage filled his belly and he tasted blood. What did they do to her? Perhaps it was a hero's instinct, but he had never cared so much for a stranger.
"She is our secret weapon. Master will be so glad we found her." Shigaraki approached her, grinning. He placed a hand on each shoulder, pulling her to his chest, she stumbled and jerked in his grip. "Now, be good." She stilled. "She will be our future. We just need to take her to Master." Shigaraki smiled and nestled his head into the girl's covered face. He played with the rope between her breasts. He seemed delighted in her response. Her breathes became short and stunted and goosebumps rippled across her skin. She expected pain.
"Shigaraki, I know your excited, but the boy…" The stupid cloud spoke up.
The League kept yapping. Bakugo tuned them out as he evaluated his next move.
He was a hero in training. He knew a hostage situation when he saw it, this was almost textbook. If- no when he escaped, the hostage was coming with him. He stared at her, fuck blushing, no restraints beyond the rope, easy to burn through. Visual obstruction from the hood, that limited his options for establishing contact. He would need to get her trust quickly. She needs to know his voice.
"Who is she? Why did you bring us here? Where are we?" That's right, bait them. Let her hear him and know he isn't with them.
"This is our friend Meri! She's so fun to play with!" The idiot knife-girl danced around. She grazed a knife across Meri's skin. He could see the shiver that overtook her as blood rolled down her arm. She didn't make a sound.
"Is this how you treat your allies? I mean, fuck!" Bakugo bit back his outburst. He needed to be calm if they were ever going to remove his restraints. His eyes darted between the villains and the girl. "Remove our restraints and maybe I'll hear you out." Like hell, but he needed to be able to use his quirk. Shigaraki considered him.
"Remove his." Shigaraki ordered. The rest of the of the League hesitated. "If we are going to work together, we should have an amiable discussion… Remove them."
A green freak unlocked his restraints, and stepped back quickly. Good. He should be afraid. Bakugo rubbed his wrists, evaluating their stiffness. Shigaraki took a step towards him.
Then, a knock at the door.
"Pizza Delivery!"
I knew I was in the air. The air pricked my skin. It was cool and sharp compared to the hideout. Compared to the black warping liquid that spewed from my mouth.
I knew a boy rescued me. He told me to hang on tight. I used any remaining strength to grip his sweaty shirt.
I knew I was away from them.
"You stupid or something?!" The boy called over the wind. I tightened my legs wrapped around his waist. There were others?
"Dude, is that a chick?"
"Don't be an idiot. She was a hostage." The boy snapped. He shifted his arm around me. He was warm. I moved my head into his neck. I should have been embarrassed. Nothing mattered except I was away from them.
"Bakugo, on my mark, create a big blast."
"You match my mark!"
"Don't fight at a time like this!"
Something made impact behind us.
"Mt. Lady!" How many voices were in the air? I couldn't tell under the hood. "Gran Torino!"
It was cold. The wind continued to whip my bare skin for another full minute before we fully descended.
"Everyone brace for impact, Bakugo now!"
"Shut up!" The boy snapped. "Hang on!" He ordered me, and then his arm was gone. I've never held anything tighter. The heat of his quirk exploded across my back as it slowed our landing. Then, we were on the ground. Solid ground. Away from them.
I collapsed, unable to find any strength. A warm hand caught my arm and guided me to the ground. When he removed the hood, I saw him. Red piercing eyes with blonde hair. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I was saved. This boy saved me. Then I saw the others, a bunch of kids.
"Hey! Is she okay? " A green hair boy was frantically moving his hands.
"Shut up Deku, give me your shirt!" The boy burned through the rope at my neck. "Come here." He muttered, pulling the offered shirt over my head. I wobbled under the pressure. A red hair boy offered his hand and pulled me up, quickly putting my arm around his shoulder. The boy followed suite on the other side.
"Did the League kidnap her too?"
"I don't know. I think."
"We need to get off this street and onto the main road."
"Does she need medical care?"
I was away from them. I was so tired. I let myself sway between the two teenagers as they took us somewhere safe. I was rescued. By a hero.
I woke up in a white room. The flourescent lights hummed. The room smelled clean. As my focus settled, I realized I was shackled to the bed.
I stared at the blank wall in front of me. I stared for hours. Or minutes. I couldn't tell anymore.
The panic built. I knew I was back with them. That's why I was shackled. Tears turned to silent sobs turned to suffocating desperation.
"Someone, Someone help! Please!" My voice was hoarse, barely carrying. Was the boy a dream? I pulled against the restraint until my joints groaned. "Please someone!" I was screaming. I felt myself screaming. They were coming back for me. They were coming and I was trapped.
"Miss, please settle down. The restraints are for your own protection." She looked like a nurse. She sounded like a nurse. I stopped screaming. I stared at her, and she shifted uncomfortably. "We will remove them once the doctor reviews your mental state. Can I offer you some water?"
"I want to see my Aunt and Uncle."
"The doctor will review that with you.
What? Review what?
A memory stole my vision, blue flames. I shook my head. My hands clenched. I don't remember all of it.
The pain. And then death.
The hollowness that fills you until you are full and empty at the same time. Drowning and suffocating. Endless darkness. Time passed.
"Meri?"
I was startled. Five people were in the room. Not the nurse. I was looking at a man in scrubs, a mammal, and a man in a scarf, a police officer with a cat head, and the boy.
"Is now the best time for this?" The man with the scarf asked. He seemed tired.
"What's happening?" My voice barely audible. I looked to the boy. He blushed, but held my gaze. He was here. My hero was here. I was away from them.
"Meri, what do you remember?" The doctor held a clipboard, the police a pad of paper. They were taking notes. I looked at the boy.
"I-I don't know." I managed to mutter.
"Take a breath, think for a minute." I didn't want to think. Blue flames. And pain. And death.
"I remember him." I looked at the boy. He was strong and warm. A hero. "He saved me."
"Do you remember what happened before meeting Katsuki Bakugo?" Before.
There was before and after.
"Meri? You are safe right now. You are in a hospital. We are just trying to piece together what happened." The man with the scarf was talking. His voice was deep and carrying. "Bakugo, why don't we review your testimony?" Bakugo shifted in his seat, I noticed the bags under his eyes.
"I was taken by the League of villains during the haunted forest walk." Bakugo seemed well practiced giving his account. He had talked with authorities already. "They wanted me to become a villain. I was held in a room for about 24 hours. I was in restraints." He paused, looking down at his hands. As if they were precious. "They brought up Meri, right before the raid. They brought her up and said she was important. She needed to meet the Master, or whatever."
"How was she restrained?" The doctor asked and the boy paused. He took a breath before continuing.
"She had a rope around her neck. They had a hood over her head…she was naked." The boy finished, looking at his hands.
I remember that. Shigaraki pressing his face into me. Toying with the rope between my breasts. Himiko, she was close. The others were there too. The other villains. They killed me. Over and over.
"Meri?"
"-yes?"
"what do you remember?"
"I remember dying." I whispered. It wasn't a secret. I died many times. "I died. I kept waking up."
"Your quirk is Anaerobic Regeneration?" The doctor asked, scribbling away at his notepad.
"Yes." I gripped my knees. I felt my nails dig into my skin. I was here. I wasn't with them.
"So you allege that the League of Villains killed you multiple times." The police officer recounted.
"Yes."
"Because of your quirk, we can only prosecute for torture. How long do you think you were in their possession?"
"I don't know."
"Can you estimate?"
"More than days, less than years." They all paused. The boy held my gaze. He was taken by them too. "Did they hurt you?"
"…No." He stated slowly. A minute passed in silence. They only hurt me. They only tortured me.
"How many times did you regenerate?" The police officer finally asked.
"I don't know."
"Can you estimate?"
"More than I could keep track. They took turns."
"And when were you taken?" I was taken. I was taken away from home. I was taken away from home and tortured. And rescued. And now I was here. I looked at my hands.
"I don't know." The police officer paused. The man with the scarf took a deep breath.
"There was a fire reported at your uncle's store last Sunday. It burned down the entire building. Your aunt and uncle were trapped inside. They died of smoke inhalation." My aunt and uncle died because of me. Because of the League of Villains. There was before and after.
"Meri, we can take a break if you need to." The mammal could speak.
"The fire was blue." I kept looking at my hands. Was this worse than death? Who would I stay with? Would I ever be safe?
"Yes, that corroborates the eye witness accounts. Do you know who started the fire?"
"The flame user. I don't know his name." He killed me. He burned me. Different parts of me. Waiting for regeneration.
"Dabi?" Supplied the boy. "He's the one that took me." The police scribbled on his pad.
"I-" I started, they all stared at me. "Where will I live?"
"We are aware of the political situation surrounding your visa. We have granted you an extended visa given the current circumstances. You will continue to remain in witness protection. This is why we brought in UA." The police office turned to look at the mammal situated in the middle of the group.
"We would like to offer you a place at UA academy!" The mammal exclaimed. "You would not be required to take classes due to your GED status, but we would provide room and board, free meals, and medical care until you reach 18. You have clearly been targeted by the League of Villains, and we are capable of providing 24/7 surveillance and protection."
My aunt and uncle were dead. The store was burned down. My home was gone. There was before and after. I looked at my hands.
"You would stay with my class in dorms. I realize the situation is not ideal, but you would be safe." The man with the scarf spoke. I looked to the boy. "Yes, Bakugo will be there." He almost sighed.
"We don't know why the League of Villains wanted to capture you. We would like to prevent this from happening in the future, and give you a chance to live a happy and full life." The mammal contributed, maintaining his positive demeanor.
It wasn't a choice. This was the only option presented. I would be living among the heros in training at UA.